UF center John Egbunu, who's status for the SEC Tournament is up in the air after tearing a ligament in his right thumb, scored a career-high 27 points against Kentucky just last week.
Gators Brace for Hogs (with Egbunu's Hand In Brace)
Wednesday, March 9, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- On Monday, Mike White was drawn into the ol' NCAA Tournament discussion. It's March, so the subject is topical. But as the coach of a team firmly on the so-called tournament "bubble" -- more likely on its outer membrane -- the Florida basketball coach's best answer to the bevy of questions tossed his way regarding his team's best chance to make the tourney field was the one that reduced the matter to the lowest common denominator.
Sophomore center John Egbunu tore a ligament in his right thumb during practice Tuesday and will have to play with his hand in some kind of fitted, functional brace that will alter his ability to grasp and shoot the ball. How much it limits his effectiveness on both ends will determine how much the 6-foot-11, 255-pound center plays against the high-scoring Hogs and their equally imposing big man, 6-10, 230-pound Moses Kingsley.
"Hopefully, it can be [set] in a way I can have freedom to do something with it," said Egbunu, who is averaging 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and shooting 58 percent from the floor. "I just feel like I have to play through it."
That's what Egbunu did during Wednesday afternoon's practice at Bridgestone Arena, site of the five-day tournament. Egbunu had the thumb immobilized, but UF trainer David "Duke" Werner planned on trying some different bracings at an everning shootaround see what might work best.
John Egbunu, with his injured thumb braced, shoots a free throw during Wednesday's practice at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, site of the SEC Tournament.
The "fluke injury," as White called it, occurred when Egbunu went to block a shot, only to have his thumb come down hard on a teammate's hand.
Though Egbunu has often battled foul trouble this season, without question he is the team's best interior defender and rim protector, with 48 blocked shots. His big body would help offset Kingsley, one of the league's premier post players at 16.1 points on nearly 56-percent shooting from the floor, plus 9.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.
On the offensive end, Egbunu has played some of the best basketball the last 10 days, registering back-to-back career-highs of 22 in a loss at LSU on Feb. 27 and then 27 points on 12-for-15 shooting in a home loss to No. 22 Kentucky. In his last four games, Egbunu has put down 27 of his 39 field-goal tries (that's 69.2 percent).
The Gators need him, but don't know how much they'll have him.
"We're not going to sit here and make excuses. We've actually done a pretty good job of avoiding injuries for the most part this season ... until this one," White said. "Obviously, this a bigger factor for us. It's unfortunate for this team, but it's also unfortunate for John because he's been starting to come into his own a little bit. All you can do at this point is try to overcome it. Playing Arkansas was going to be very difficult regardless of whether John is full strength or not."
UF has been down this road before. Sort of. And not this year.
Fifth-year senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith broke a bone in his hand in the 2014-15 season opener, missed one game, then returned to play several weeks with a cast on his wrist. It was cumbersome, but the cast was the least of his problems.
"I just told him, if he's going to try and play there's going to be pain the whole game," Finney-Smith said. "It's a mental thing. You have to win the mental war. Once you tell yourself it doesn't hurt, it kind of helps. But you have to somehow take your mind off of it."
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson watched Egbunu go for 14 points and four rebounds when the two teams met Feb. 3 in Gainesville, where the Gators won 87-83. As far the Hogs are concerned, they'll expect the big guy's best.
"He played well against us in the last game," Anderson said. "We're going to prepare just like he's going full blast."
In the event Egbunu is unable to go "full blast" -- and his minutes figure to be lessoned -- 6-9 freshman Kevarrius Hayes and 6-10 sophomore Schuyler Rimmer will spell him. The two have combined to average 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds over 16.5 minutes per game. Both players tend to get in foul trouble, with Hayes ranking fifth on the team in fouls despite being 10th in minutes (10.1 per).
Hayes, though, also ranks near the top of his team when it comes to playing hard. That's what they'll need from if his role is increased.
"My mentality shouldn't change," Hayes said. "I just need to provide as much energy and effort as I can when I'm on the court. I just need to contribute."
The Gators, in turn, just need to beat Arkansas. Period.
For this team, with or without John Egbunu, any speculation beyond that is pointless.
